Manchester City vs Chelsea FC- Preview

The international break is finally over and the boys in blue will be seen back in action tonight in a high voltage clash against the defending champions for the first time in the season. The blues are currently 3rd in the league table and is also a point above Manchester City who are in the 4th position. This game will undoubtedly be one of the most crucial and important fixture in this year’s premier league season so far for both the clubs and a victory for either side could have a major impact on both the sides for the rest of the season. The blues are currently enjoying a 6 game winning streak in the league, which will surely be a confidence booster for this young team before the big match coming up next.

Frank Lampard’s Press Conference

Key Takeaways From Frank’s Pre-match Press Conference

Our Gaffer made it quite clear that he would never manage Spurs when asked about a probable job opportunity in the North London club in the future. Frank did confirm that Callum had a hamstring injury and would miss the game upcoming game against City. He also spoke about Pulisic, who faced a hip injury in the last game against Crystal Palace and was also not a part of the US Men’s National Team in the last international break. Speaking about him, Frank said that Pulisic did train with the 1st team in the midweek, but he would be still in contention to play the Man City game. No updates were provided by the gaffer regarding our long term absentee Ruben Loftus Cheek.

Speaking about the midfield, he did mentioned that it would be hard to pick from Jorginho, Kovacic and fully fit Ngolo Kante, who recently made a comeback against Crystal Palace in the last league fixture. Gaffer was quite satisfied speaking about his midfielders and the fluidity that the team’s midfield have shown this year under him. Speaking about the Man City clash, Frank acknowledged that City have reached a very high level under Pep Guardiola but at the same time he was also pleased to see his team in that position after 3 months of work with the club. But he made it quite clear that he wanted more from his players to maintain that level and try to put pressure on the league leaders for the games ahead.

Head to Head: Chelsea vs Manchester United

Both the sides have met on 163 occasions in all the competitions with Chelsea registering 67 wins against City’s tally of 57 wins along with 39 draws. Even though, in recent years this fixture has not given us the results that we wanted, but things do turnaround at some point and we hope that the results come in our favour soon.

Predicted Line-up for Chelsea

Chelsea are expected to play in 4-3-3 formation against Manchester City tonight. The midfield will be the focal point of Chelsea’s press and build up play against a fast and dominant Man City team. This is the team we can expect for tonight’s game:

Photo courtesy: www.buildlineup.com

Players to Watch Out for

N’golo Kante: A big man for a big stage. Always gives his best in all our games and tonight will be a big test for him, especially to stop City’s free flowing football on the pitch. A lot depends on his shoulders and he needs to be at his best to get something out from tonight’s game.

Kurt Zouma: He has already shown major improvements since the start of the season and it finally seems like he is settling down well with the team and the philosophy of our Gaffer. A lot depends on him and Chelsea’s defence in tonight’s game against City.

Willian: Our no.10 has surely silenced many of his critics this season with his performances. Having a great experienced player like him in the team’s attacking option will surely be a big boost for the team’s morale and the young players of our team.

Keep The Blue Flag Flying High..!!!

- Mainak Mitra